It’s time for change. Now that the old year has slipped away and a new one has dawned, this is traditionally a day for self-examination. It’s customary to look back at what went wrong and resolve to do better. And that means embarking on new directions. Plans for self-improvement commonly involve losing weight, quitting smoking, or getting more exercise — and often don’t survive the month.

Never mind. It’s important to make an effort. Public figures in particular, from the great to the not-great and the not-so-great, could use some help in crafting goals. So, in the spirit of the New Year, here are a few resolutions we’d like to see from people in the news:

Stephen Harper: Confronted by a scandal involving rogue senators and your own prime ministerial staff, you claim to know nothing at all. If that’s true (admittedly, a very big “if”) resolve to spend less time at the piano and more energy on figuring out what people in your office are playing at.

Thomas Mulcair: You’ve mastered the art of the cold snarl and the Question Period sound bite, but that’s not good enough to win Ontario’s heart. If you want to graduate to prime minister, from being leader of the official opposition, resolve to take some lessons in warmth.

Alice Munro: Now that you’ve won a Nobel Prize through mastery of the short story, perhaps it’s time to try something new. Rap and hip-hop are popular forms of expression. Resolve to explore “busting a rhyme.”

Pauline Marois: Your plan to deny Quebec public employees the right to wear religious symbols is both insensitive and offensive. Instead of attacking turbans, burkas and hijabs, resolve to eliminate closed-mindedness in public officials — beginning with your own.

Tom Flanagan: Your “grave doubts” about jailing people who collect child porn weren’t just wrong, they revealed a commentator hopelessly out of touch with the public. Resolve to pause and think before speaking.

David Gilmour: You reaped well-deserved criticism for disparaging female authors and insisting on teaching books by “serious heterosexual guys.” Resolve to broaden your reading list. Perhaps you’d be comfortable starting with George Sand, a female author with a name like a man’s.

Kathleen Wynne: With an Ontario election expected this spring voters need to hear more from their premier than the fact she’s a well-intentioned person who enjoys running. Resolve to put more pieces of substantive policy before the public.

Deepak Chopra: As head of Canada Post you made the callous claim that seniors, deprived of door-to-door delivery, will be better off if forced to exercise by walking to a community mail box. Using that logic, there would be added benefit if they weren’t allowed to use wheelchairs. Resolve to grow a heart.

Rob Ford: You’re the most god-awful mayor in Toronto’s history. Stop doing more damage . . . just go.

Barack Obama: Instead of over-promising, under-delivering, and relying too much on your teleprompter skills, resolve to knuckle down and do the hard work of delivering sound presidential policy.

Tim Hudak: Your war on organized labour is centred on a Tory policy designed to bust unions and weaken collective bargaining rights. If, by some miracle, you ever become Ontario’s premier resolve to change your hurtful ways and give working people a chance.

Joachim Stroink: It should have been obvious that posing in blackface at a Halifax Christmas event was inappropriate, especially for a member of Nova Scotia’s provincial legislature. Resolve to take some sensitivity training. Lesson One: It’s never advisable for a white person to appear in blackface.

Glen Murray: It’s hard to have a worse plan for public transit than bumbling Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. But you managed it with your lame proposal for a two-stop Scarborough “stubway.” As Ontario’s transportation minister, resolve to get a better grip on the transit file. Do what’s right for riders instead of pandering for votes.

Chris Spence: You lost your position as director of the Toronto District School Board through your flagrant and inexcusable plagiarism. Resolve to do your homework.

Karen Stintz: In running for mayor against incumbent Rob Ford you’ll face an unprincipled antagonist who will stop at nothing, including outright falsehoods, in order to win. Resolve to stand up to this bully and challenge each and every fabrication.

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